"I think two of the three opposition parties are interested in making the parliament work."
You could feel Harper's underlying disdain for the Liberals with this quote:
"The biggest concern I have is that, here you have the Liberal Party making all these warlike noises. There against this, there against that. They'll bring down the government. We all know, everyone one of us, everyone of you in the media know that if there is any one of the four parties that could not fight an election today it's the Liberal Party of Canada. So I think to take that negative an approach, right from the outset doesn't speak very well for the party and I don't think it will be taken well by Canadians."
Interesting, that in the last minority parliament Stephen Harper made the following quotes within 24 hours of the Liberals throne speech:
"The Liberal party can't expect to walk in and simply propose its own program that only one-third of Canadians supported and expect that everybody's going to vote for it."
'Ultimately the government's own attitude and actions will determine whether this Parliament will be able to serve Canadians as they deserve and expect, or end prematurely."
If memory serves, Harper immediately demanded amendments to the throne speech. You can find a myriad of quotes and occasions where Harper threatened to topple the government. How did such hostility foster a climate that best served Canadians interests? So, when Harper spouts off about the negative Liberals, I say- take a seat, you don't have a leg to stand on.
Let's not forget, this is a fragile minority by any historical definition, not a mandate for the "Harper Revolution". Harper is correct in pointing out that the Liberals aren't really in a position to bring down the government, but that doesn't necessarily translate into a majority by default. Layton and Duceppe are engaging in their own political calculus when they appear conciliatory. The Liberal stance appears to be nothing more than an acknowledgment of the precarious position of this weak minority. I expect the Liberals to do their job and hold Harper accountable. If that involves an obstructionist tone, so be it, Canadians desperately need the check. The only danger for the Liberals is that they not allow Harper to frame their dissent and give Canadians a negative impression of their role. I suggest whenever Harper does as he did with the Duffy interview, the Liberals welcome the media to look at Harper's past views on opposition in a minority parliament- the hypocrisy is striking.
8 comments:
Glad you pointed this out, Steve. Harper is an idiot if he thinks people are going to not notice that Graham is essentially reading the same speeches that he made last year.
I love it: opposition = obstructionist. Have you noticed that it's the exact same term the Republicans use to describe any move by the Democrats to delay or reject anything?
this reminds me of the time Harper was bashing the liberal when they were being propped up by the Bloc, when only one week earlier it was Harper making alliances with the bloc... and then he was elected his government is now being supported by the Bloc.
I don;t think Harper gives us regular folk enough credit... we can remember what happened only a few months ago
Kinda makes him seem like a power hungry hypocrite
Kinda. ;)
It also appears that Canadians do not have a sense of history. That's where we bloggers come in - we aren't limited to following the "news" like the MSM is. There's no profit in talking about things that happened a year ago, but who of us are in this for profit?
Rule #321 of Politics:
- When your team is in Opposition, all opposition to the government is principled.
- When your team is in Government, all opposition to the government is obstructionist.
If anything, this unfortunately highlights how the Liberals and the Conservatives are exactly the same when it comes to partisan sniping. The Libs and Cons, in this regard, are no better than either one.
Given Harper's own performance as the LOO it is quite rich for him to suddenly be taking the position that being the Official Opposition does not mean that they should be in opposition to the intentions of the government. Exactly what political system was he raised in because that belief of his has no place in Parliamentary government. This idea that suddenly the Liberals are acting in a dark and damning manner in opposition by opposing policies of the CPC government is rank hypocrisy by this man who spent his entire time as LOO doing exactly that whether he was heading the CA or the CPC.
You have exactly the right response, pull up Harper's own words from the opening of the last Session and throw them back at him and those that pick up his rhetoric and claim the Liberals are being nasty obstructionists and are working against Parliament working as it was intended. This is nonsense and it is yet another example of Harper using the same framing that the GOP made such great use of against the Dems in America.
This is something we all need to keep an eye one and we also cannot allow him to continue stripping context and historical accuracy/factualness in these rhetorical attacks he is using. It does show yet again though how much of a hypocrite Harper is given his morals campaign over the years, more than is the norm for any political leader in my view. It also shows yet again his preference for the American model of government and the current American fashion for deceptive binary reasoning and rhetoric.
Scotian missed the point.
I'll repeat.
- When your team is in Opposition, all opposition to the government is principled.
- When your team is in Government, all opposition to the government is obstructionist.
During the 38th Parliament, Paul Martin called Stephen Harper obstructionist. If you don't like the Cons, you'd agree with that assessment.
During the 39th Parliament, Stephen Harper called the Libs obstructionist. If you don't like the Cons, you'd call him a hypocrite.
It's bland partisan sniping.
Its not only Harper that regards the Liberals as being "obstructionist before obstructing."
The problem is that the Reform, PCs, NDP, and Bloc have sat together in opposition for over a decade. All of these groups are angry at the liberals. The NDP have troubles being angry at the Conservatives because they really haven't messed up yet.
It'll be like this for another few months until the Conservatives start acting like a government and not as an opposition party. Its a hard transition considering they've sat in opposition for over a decade.
It would be hard to not think that there is still tension between the Liberals and Conservatives (as there is still tension between the Liberals and NDP and Liberals and Bloc). I mean in the first session the government demanded money from the opposition, when the hell doe that happen?
With the Chantal Hebert fan club leading the way Harper continues to have too easy a time!
I find it scary how they are succeeding in fooling so many so much of the time - the crucial questions are not being asked (start with "How can such radical change of view be honest?")
And now the latest - and watch for this - a political decision (against all expectations) NOT to put the Edith Gendron case to judicial review: due, I assume, to their continued seducing of Quebec: even my VERY separatist sister-in-law feels she shouldn't be in a department that promotes Canadian unity!
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